Apparatus for transferring material from a high to a lower level.



A. G; JOHNSTON. APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO ALOWER LEVEL APPLICATION FILED JAN 30, 1907.

Patented Dec. '7, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ANDREW. a. GRAHAM co, PHOYO-LIYMOGRAPHERS, msumc'mu. u. c.

A. G. JOHNSTON.

APPARATUS FOR. TRANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO A LOWER LEVEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1907. 942,449, Patented D60.7,1909.

fi SHEETSSHEET 2.

Z16 XMMW INDREW. a. GRAHAM em, mow-uruocmwms, msxmsmn. D- a A. 0.JOHNSTON. APPARATUS FOR TBANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO A LOWERLEVEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1907. 942,449, Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

.mnnevn a, mum-1 00 PNOTOLIYHOGRAPNERS. WASHINGTON, v. a;

A. G. JOHNSTON. APPARATUS FOR TRANSPBRRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO ALOWER LEVEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.30, 1907.

942,449. Patented Dec. 7,1909.

A 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Anuazw. 5. Emma m. mom-unmuvums. msnmmun. u, e.

A. G. JOHNSTON.

APPARATUS FOR TEANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO A LOWER LEVEL.

' APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1907.

$4%A%9s Patented Bee. 7, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

ANDREW. a GRANAM cu. Pumwunrosmmwc. msmamu o c.

UNTTED fhTE @FFTCE.

ARTHUR C. JOHNSTON, OF W'YNCO'IE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO DODGE COALSTORAGE COMPANY, OF NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON-NECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING MATERIAL FROM A HIGH TO A LOWER. LEVEL.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at lVyncote, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvementsin Apparatus for Transferring Material from a High to a Lower Level, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to prevent the breakage to any appreciableextent of frangible material as it is transferred from a high to a lowerlevel.

My invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus broadlyclaimed in an application for patent filed by me on the 29th day ofJanuary, 1907.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1, is a perspective view of thelower end of a chute, showing a pile being formed, illustrating myinvention; Fig. 1*, is a sectional View of the lower end of the chuteillustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 2, is a longitudinal sectional View throughthe chute shown in Fig. 1, situated in a bin; Fig. 3, is a transversesectional view of the chute on the line 33, Fig. 2; Fig. l, is atransverse sectional view through the chute on the line l4, Fig. 2; Fig.5, is a face view of the chute looking in the direction of the arrow,Fig. 2, without the material; Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view of abin, showing a series of the chutes of the form illustrated in Fig. 2,mounted therein and arranged for piling material within the bin; Fig. 7,is a sectional view on the line 7'(', Fig. 6; Fig. 8, is a longitudinalsectional View of a modification, illustrating the sides of a chutestepped; Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, are views of modifications ofthe invention; and Fig. 15, is a View of my invention applied to aspiral chute.

Referring in the first instance to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, A is a chutearranged at an angle somewhat less than the angle of repose of thematerial to be piled. This chute has sides a-a, which, in the presentinstance, are higher at the upper end than at the lower end andgradually taper from one point to the other.

In Fig. 2, I have shown the chute mounted within a bin B, having apiling floor B. The chute extends, in this instance, to the verticalwall I) of the bin and this wall acts Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. January 30, 190?.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

Serial No. 354,856.

as an abutmentthe purpose of which will be described hereafter.

D is a conveyer discharging into the upper end of the chute A and, inthe present instance, consists of a trough cl, an endless chain cl, andflights (Z although any suitable type of conveying apparatus may be usedto feed the material to the inclined chute. I have shown coal as thematerial to be transferred from the high to the lower level and to bepiled in the bin, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The coal is delivered to thechute A by the conveyer and travels down the chute until it reaches theabutment 6, then the material commences to back up on the chute untilthe entire bottom of the chute is covered with particles of coal whichform a roughened surface. An abutment is necessary to cause the materialto lodge on the surface of the chute, this abutment may be the floor orthe wall I) of the bin, or a transverse rib a at the base of the chuteas in Fig. 1*, or a series of transverse ribs (1 may extend at intervalsacross the chute as illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5, to form pockets to holdthe frangible material which forms the roughened surface. I prefer touse the ribs (4 in order to prevent avalanching should a large body ofmaterial be dis charged upon the chute at once. It will be noticed thatthe material will flow over the roughened surface of the chute, rollingand sliding without material drop and when it reaches the abutment atthe floor it will accumulate until it flows over the abutment and overthe sides forming an initial pile, and as the pile increases in heightthe apex will move toward the point of supply and the depth of the bodyof coal within the chute will be increased, depending upon the height ofthe sides aa of the chute at the apex of the pile, as indicated by thediagrammatic dotted lines in Fig. 2. Thus in time the pile will be ofsuch height as to embed the chute. lVhen the apex of the pile reachesthe conveyer D, then the pile may be elongated as the coal will then bedischarged upon the pile already formed and the point of discharge willmore forward as the pile increases in length; thus filling the entirebin, or, if a bin is not used, increasing the area of coal on the pilingfloor.

In Fig. 6, I have shown my invention this instance, is narrow incomparison to its height and a single chute arranged at the angle shownwould not deliver material from the upper end of the bin to the pilingfloor B without disintegrating the material, therefore, I have arranged,in the present instance, three chutes A, A and A each chute being widerat the upper end 6 than at the lower end a. The lower end 0 of the chuteA extends into the upper end 6 of the chute A and the same is the casewith the chutes A and A. The object of this construction is to allow thematerial. as it flows down the upper chute to flow over the sides of thesaid chute onto the chute below it without material drop; so that thereis a continuous rolling and sliding of, the material from the pointwhere it is discharged on to the upper chute to the piling floor or tothe apex of the pile being formed. The bin will be filled in the mannerindicated in dotted lines, first, the material embedding the chute A,then embedding the chute A and finally embedding the chute A".

Fig. 8, is a view of a modification in which the sides a of the chute Aare stepped; the sides being higher at the upper end of the chute thanat the lower end, and the material instead of discharging gradually overthe sides of the chute, as in Fig. 2, will discharge at intervalsaccording to the length of the steps.

In the chute illustrated in Fig. 9, the sides a of the chute A are madeup of a series of sections, either removable or hinged in order to beturned down, so that when the apex of the pile reaches a given point asection is removed or turned down, allowing the material to flowlaterally over the sides of the chute.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12, show a chute A in which the sides are dispensedwith, but in this instance the chute has to be so shaped, as shown inthe plan view of Fig. 12, that a certain body of material will remainupon the chute and when this body increases in height the surplus willflow over the edges of the chute, as shown in Fig. 11.

In Fig. 14-, T have shown a chute A having-a series of openings 64 inthe bottom and these openings are closed by doors a, which may bemounted in any suitable manner. The abutments (E, in this instance, arearranged below each opening, so that when the opening is uncovered thecoal will flow through the opening and that part of the coal previouslyretained in the chute will be discharged on the coal overflowing theroughened bed. The coal will in this manner be progressively piled.

In Fig. 13, I have shown the chute A having an opening 0, throughout itsentire length and, in this instance, I close the open ing by a ribbon Eadapted to guides on the under side of the chute. The material flowsover the end of the ribbon onto the piling floor or onto the pile. Theribbon is wound upon a drum E at the upper end of the chute and thecross ribs (1 are carried in the present instance by the side members.As the pile increases in height the ribbon is coiled upon the drum tomove the discharge point. In Fig. 15, T have shown my invention asapplied to a spiral chute, this form is euaecially desirable when thematerial must be transferred through a compara tively narrow space.

It will be seen that in all of the above types of chutes tnc material tobe transferred from a high to a lowerlevel is allowed to How over aroughened surface formed by the material itself and the bed forming theroughened surface is at or about the angle of repose of the materialbeing transferred, so that there is a continuous rolling and sliding ofthe material over the roughened surface and the flow is retarded to suchan extent as to prevent breakage to any appreciable extent.

My invention is particularly adapted for use in piling coal upon pilingfloors or in bins, as coal when allowed to drop even a short distancewill oftentimes be broken to such an extent that screening is necessary,but by the use of my invention there is no material drop of the coal asit passes over the inclined roughened surface and even when it passesfrom one chute to the other, as shown in Fig. 6, the material simplyrolls over the sides of the upper chute onto the body of material in thelower chute, and while my invention is particularly adapted for pilingor transferring coal, it can be used for transferring or piling anyother frangible material.

W hile I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and some of the other figures, thebody of the chute arranged at an angle a little less than the angle ofrepose of the material to be piled, in some instances it may be arrangedat a greater angle than the angle'of repose of the material, but in allcases, in this instance, the roughened surface formed on the body of thechute is at the angle of repose of the material to be piled and anymaterial discharged onto this surface will flow over the surface at aretarded speed and will not be disintegrated to any appreciable extent.

I claim 1. A chute arranged at an incline, said chute having sideshigher at the upper end than at the lower end, an abutment for retaininga body of material in the chute at the angle of repose of said materialso that when additional material is discharged onto the chute, saidmaterial held by the abutment will form a roughened surface to retardthe flow of said material thus preventing breakage of the material toany appreciable extent, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a bin having a piling floor, two or more chutesarranged at an incline one above another, one chute discharging intoanother, each chute having an abutment at its lower end, side membersand a roughened surface, said chutes being so arranged that materialflowing over the roughened surface of one chute will flow down to theabutment and will then flow laterally from the sides of said chute on tothe roughened surface of the chute directly below it, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of a bin having a pil ing floor, two or more chutesarranged in zigzag form above the piling floor, said chutes having sidemembers and being wider at the upper end than at the lower end, so thatthe lower end of one chute can overflow into the upper end of the otherchute, each chute having a roughened surface, an abut-.

ment at the lower end of each chute so that when the material isdischarged on to the chutes it will flow over the roughened-surface andthe abutments will cause the mate rial to flow laterally over the sidemembers of the upper chute on to the widened portion of the chutedirectly below it, substantially as described.

4:. The combination of a bin, a series of chutes mounted in the bin, onechute being arranged at a higher level than another, the body of eachchute being less in width at the lower end than at the upper end, thelower end of one chute being extended into the upper end of the chutenext below it, the sides of the chutes being higher at the upper endthan at the lower end, an abutment for each chute, the whole being socombined that material discharged into the upper chute will be held bythe abutment to form a roughened bed over which other material mustflow, the same continuing throughout the several chutes so that materialas it is discharged into the bin will flow over the several chutes tothe piling floor, or to the apex of the pile being formed withoutbreakage to an appreciable extent, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR C. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

WM. E. SHUPE, VVM. A. BARR.

